Second Trimester Fitness

Since I’m now in my thirdd trimester (DO WHAT?!) I thought I would talk about how my fitness routines have changed in the second trimester.

What you should know: prior to pregnancy I did four types of workouts. Those were cardio machines (elliptical, stationary bike) five days a week, Zumba three days a week, yoga once a week, and sometimes spin. Yes, I was a gym rat. 😉

Now let’s talk about how that routine changed from weeks 14-27.

Yoga started changing for me around 14 weeks. Everything got a little harder and my balance got worse. Now that I’m in my third trimester I laugh when I look back at my notes that say it got harder (oh girrrrrrl, it’s hard now!). At 18 weeks I added a weekly prenatal yoga class to my routine to learn which poses were safe and how to modify certain ones. I LOVE my prenatal yoga classes. So I increased my yoga from once a week to twice a week. I did get a thicker yoga mat to go underneath my standard one to add more cushion (it’s glorious! It also comes with its own carrying strap) and some blocks since my belly is getting in the way more now and I can’t reach the ground in some poses (of course Lala gnawed on one of them (?!) and now every time I use them in class I see his little teeth prints).

RPM (spin) started getting difficult for me around 16 weeks. I couldn’t lean forward and “race” because it felt like I couldn’t breathe. The instructor helped me find a six pound ball in the weight room to put on top of the handle bars so even when I lean forward to race I’m not really leaning forward. Finally I could breathe again! …but it was short-lived. By 24 weeks I couldn’t catch my breath. I don’t think it’s the baby though; if I had to guess I would say it’s the whole muscle repair acting like a corset that pushes the baby up in my lungs. I haven’t been to spin since 24 weeks. And I’m okay with that.

Zumba hasn’t changed for me…yet. I’m sure it will. I do sometimes cough a bit during it–I think my body is just trying to suck in more air and that is its response. I purchased a Maternity FitSplint band to wear that I read a lot of good reviews about for my third trimester–it seems like it’s a must for runners or those that bounce a lot when they exercise. You can wear it three ways including one band above and one below your bump to really keep it stationary. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it will allow me to do Zumba until I deliver. I still go to Zumba three times a week.

I’m still doing five days of cardio machines, but I have bumped down the levels. Pre-pregnancy I was a level 12 on the machines I use, but have now dropped down to a 7 or 8 because the first blood pressure medicine I was put on at 20 weeks (Aldomet) made my leg muscles so sore. And now I’ve gotten used to those levels so I’m being kind of lazy even though I changed BP meds, haha. #justkeepingitreal I do the machines for 45-50 minutes on my “lunch break” during the week.

At 19 weeks I did start doing Body Jam a couple of times a week to replace boring old cardio machines. It’s a Les Miles program and very dance-minded. ..and for someone who has ZERO background (and zero coordination and is tone deaf) it’s been really interesting, haha. I stopped at 25 weeks when I went back to work (they only offer it in the mornings at my gym), but I’m thinking I’ll try it again on maternity leave (after the 6 week healing phase is over of course).

I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty proud of myself for keeping up my pretty intense fitness routine while pregnant–especially when I started the Aldomet/methyldopa which left me feeling like I had mono 24/7. In fact, this entire pregnancy I’ve only missed one session because of “laziness”/fatigue/whatever and I felt so guilty afterwards I promised myself I wouldn’t do that again.

Unfortunately, I can’t say my activity level has made my pregnancy easier. Nope, still have pregnancy-induced hypertension and gestational diabetes like always, BUT I’m hoping that my recovery will be easier–that my body will bounce back to pre-pregnancy fitness level quicker because, y’all, I canNOT wait to get my body back. Not the size (though that will be nice) per se, but the actual “ownership” of my body. Pregnancy (and to some effect, breastfeeding) makes me feel like someone else is in control of my body. I can’t control my blood pressure, or my pancreas, or the amount of air I can breathe in, or sleeping on my stomach, or my bladder, etc. Everything is being controlled by something else and it’s just so uncomfortable (but I do love the kicks and I realize how amazing it is to carry a baby so please don’t think I’m being ungrateful when I complain).

So, that’s my second trimester fitness routine. Hopefully when I check in for my last update in nine or ten weeks I can say the same things! Fingers crossed.